I captured this on the last day of a Disney cruise a bunch of years ago. I’d taken to getting up early each day to capture the sunrise and this was one occasion it really paid off!
The waters went suddenly calm all around the ship and the sky stretched out forever. I had just seen a pod of whales and we were weaving around new areas of the fjords. I knew I was in Alaska then!
I was doing an old promo video for Smugmug, which is the website that hosts my portfolio. They are a great company and I’ve been a fan for many years. They did a few “promo” videos staring yours truly and this was one of the locations we visited. They would get footage of me looking “cool” with my tripod. I don’t really think I look that cool. I look quite nerdy. But, comfortable with my nerdiness, I think!
Here’s the first photo I took at Burning Man in 2013, I think, and it’s still one of my favorites. It features a sculpture by Marco Cochrane. When the occasional sandstorms come, a lot of people go take cover, but that’s when I go out to take cool photos! It adds all the depth and mystery that is really there, I think.
This is the road I got stuck on after my 4-wheeler caught on fire. Now, of course, I had all my photography equipment with me… who wouldn’t take a whole host of photo equipment on a 4-wheeler joyride? I don’t know! I mean, you gotta be ready just in case the dang thing catches on fire!
I recently re-worked a few of my older photos for an exhibition with Vanity Fair and the Oscars. There was to be a bit of a “film” feel, for obvious reasons, so I went back and used various cross-processing techniques for the shots. This is a process where you push the whites into one color space and the blacks into another. Every scene is completely different, so I may start with a preset but then push it into another direction.
Here’s a new podcast I was just featured in. What’s it about? Here, let them tell you…
“Arash catches internationally renowned photographer Trey Ratcliff in Hollywood on one of his recent visits to the United States. Trey’s iconic travel photos have made a lasting impact on the international photography community and his images of Black Rock City and the desert have served as pillars of the storytelling around Burning Man. A pioneer in HDR photography and a multi-disciplinary artist making waves in the NFT space, in this episode we delve into Trey’s unique perspective on photography and art, as well as his journey to becoming a self realized artist in conjunction with his exploration of Burning Man. After the interview we are treated to a sunrise DJ set from The Scumfrog, recorded live at Robot Heart in 2015. This electrifying mix includes a track that was used in Trey’s Machine Elf 98, making this episode a super fun one for those interested in the intersection of photography and dance music.”
This photo was a bit of an accident.
I was as close as humanly possible to the launch, on the edge of the media area in the NASA compound. When the shuttle blasts off, there is a long delay before you hear the thing. Right when I took this, the first sound wave ripped through my skeleton. I think I just hit the trigger out of fear and shock combined! But, it came out pretty good, all the same.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
This was difficult to process right but it was a lot of fun. Shots in Manhattan are often filled with all kinds of complex activity, and Times Square amps that all up to the next order of magnitude.
The weather was perfect on this day, and I know that isn’t always the case. Since everything was more or less idyllic, I decided to make the most of it and see how many compositions I could squeeze into the afternoon. The only time I spent waiting around was watching for a few Yellow Cabs to streak by.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
It was my first time in Maui, and all I knew about it I got from Lost. I loved that show. Too bad it ended so badly. But I always loved this talk by JJ Abrams that he gave at the TED conference. He talked about having a “Magic Box” and you never really show people what is inside. I ended up speaking with him at a future Google TED-like conference. He went after me and said amazing things about my photography. God I was so… I don’t know the word. There may be some German word for what I was feeling.
